Santa Cruz is the second largest island in
the Galapagos and something of a hub for
the archipelago. The small town of Puerto Ayora
in the southwest of this large, round volcanic
island is the economic center of the Islands,
with the largest population of the four inhabited
islands (approx. 10,000). Tourism, including
refurbishing and resupplying yachts, along
with fishing and boat-building, are major
sources of commerce Puerto Ayora is home
to both the Galapagos National Park and Charles
Darwin Research Station, the center of the
great restorative efforts taking place in
the park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We
visited the Giant Tortoise Breeding and Rearing
Program run by the research station, which
began by rescuing the remaining 16 tortoises
on the island of Espanola in the 1970s. This
program has restored the population of animals
there to over 1,000 today. We saw many of
these animals, with their sweet ET necks
and faces, from hatchlings to juveniles to
large, distinguished individuals like Lonesome
George, the last of his particular race of
tortoise, may be 150 years old!

A highlight oof the trip is a visit to the
Santa Cruz Highlands, where the sparse, dry
coastal vegetation transitions to lush wet
fields and forests overgrown with moss and
lichens. Our visit to the Tortoise Reserve
enabled us view these friendly ancient creatures
in their natural setting. This extends to
the adjacent pasturelands, where farmers
have given tortoise safe quarter in exchange
for allowing paying visitors to see them.
The best times to see tortoises here is during
the cool wet season from June through December.
Another attraction close by is a very large
lava tube. A wooden stairway descends to
the mouth of its arched entrance and continues
underground to the narrow passage that marks
its exit.

To the west we visit Las Bachas, a sandy
white-coral beach that is a major egg-laying
site for sea turtles. Bachas are notches,
and the beach's name refers to the indentations
left in the sand by both laying turtles and
their departing hatchlings. On the shore,
there are marine iguanas and in the lagoon, flamingos
are commonly seen.

Then onward for a visit to Dragon Hill (Cerro
Dragon) which is a brackish water lagoon
that attracts flamingos, common stilts, pintail
ducks and other species of birds. There is
a short walk up a small hill, which rewards
us with a nesting site for iguanas and a
great view!